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Artistes in Singapore help raise funds for Japan

By Henryl Moreno

The resilience of survivors of last week's earthquake in Japan inspired a group of artistes and friends hundreds of miles away to do something special for them.

On 12 March, a day after deadly waves hit Japan's northeast coast, the group in Singapore met and decided to hold a fund-raiser for the victims on 17 March.

"The idea was to bring a group of (performers) together and to raise money for (the affected)," Yatsuhide Sakamoto, one of the organisers, told Yahoo! Southeast Asia. "We're very far away from Japan, so (the best) we can do is (come up with) this kind of event. "

Dubbing the affair "Gambatte! Japan from Singapore," Sakamoto said they turned to Facebook to promote the event by putting up a page (http://www.facebook.com/pages/GAMBATTE-JAPAN-from-Singapore/205899609422199) for it. Word soon spread like wildfire and, by Thursday afternoon, over 1,000 users had pledged to attend "Gambatte," which means "do your best" or "hang in there" in Japanese.

By 10 p.m, hundreds of guests had turned out at the the Blu Jaz Café (http://www.blujaz.net/) on Bali Lane in Bugis on Thursday. To keep the crowd entertained, a series of bands performed at the café's ground floor from 6 p.m. onwards. A floor up, DJs spun their music, while dance performers ruled the third floor. The event was streamed live on the Internet by a bevy of men wielding cameras and laptops.

Outside the venue, two volunteers sold beer for seven dollars, no change given. A few steps away, volunteers from Mercy Relief accepted donations from guests, who were given the option to have their pictures taken while holding up signs expressing their support for the Japanese people. Throughout the night, volunteers handed out stickers in exchange for loose change.

After the party, guests left messages of support and appreciation on the group's Facebook page.

"Congratulations on an awesome effort," said one fan.

The gathering was a "very inspiring and heartwarming initiative," observed another.

"It was a very beautiful, touching event," another guest wrote.

Benjamin Ray, who marketed the event, said they hoped to raise SGD $15,000 from beer sales, and more from direct donations.

"We're trying to bring a little smile back there to Japan," he said.

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